Hostel Check-In, Vivocity

We opted to try to check in as early as possible. The 4 of us hopped into Ah Pek (already packed car.. yes, we loaded the car yesterday). And off we went to the hostel. It took us less than 30 minutes to reach the hostel.

The NUS sign just as we turn in

First sight of PGPR

Got into the carpark, unloaded our stuff and tried to find Block 17. It was rather confusing as the signs dissappeared halfway. We did meet a young man (senior?) who pointed us towards the correct direction.

Everyone helped to carry your many bags of things

Stepping into the room. It's a corner unit.

View from your room

We then left the things and took a quick peek at the bathroom and pantry before heading off.

We went to Takashimaya to look at the portable air-cons in the other Best Denki there. We met a nice lady who eventually sold us the 8000 BTU Europace model. Paid for it and told them that we'll come back to collect it after lunch.

Then walked to Ion where we met up with Ah Mm and the girls and Uncle Dennis for lunch in Taste Paradise. Menu is dim sum. 

After lunch, Chim Poh went off to meet with her friends, while Uncle Dennis came along with us. We headed back to the electrical shop to pick up our purchase then headed to the car then to the hostel. Ah Pek dropped us off and we had the 2 strong men to carry the aircon to the room:

Then you got to work to put up the seal. I quickly helped to set up your bed and the small items. Uncle Dennis even commented that he's around to help out everytime you check into your study accomodations (Geo and now Helix House).😂

Here's a quick peek of the room:

After all was done, we walked to the center of the hostel block and waited for our Grab. 

The canteen

Waiting for our Grab

The ride wasn't too long, but the crowd in VivoCity was crazy! Uncle Dennis brought us to Torikizoku for some yakitori and nice cold beer. We even met the CEO of the company which brought this chain into Singapore, Uncle Dennis' friend.

Then we took the MRT back to Ah Pek's house as we'd planning to have dinner with them at home.

After dinner and a little rest, Ah Pek sent you back to the hostel where you slowly unpacked the rest of your stuff. 

Hello, Singapore

Daddy or I planned to go with you to Singapore, to help you settle down and to buy whatever you'd need to make your room as comfortable as possible. 

This morning we left earlier as you could not do your internet check-in and would need to drop off your 2 big bags. Daddy and Evelyn (yes she came along too, to say goodbye to you) waited in the car while we went to check in and get our boarding passes printed. 

When all was settled, we headed back to the car to have breakfast together. We went to the kopi tiam in Sungai Nibong. Then we headed back to the airport. We said our goodbyes and then went on to clear immigration and enter the departure hall.

Saying goodbye to Penang. Will be a while before you're back

Our flight was on time and after a short flight we arrived in Singapore. Stopped by one of the shops to buy some chocolates for the girls before going to clear immigration and to collect our bags. 

As we took Scoot, we landed in Terminal 1. Upon walking out, we're in Jewel Changi. Daddy texted to at least look at it, but you weren't interested. So we bought your pre-paid SIM card, got it set up and headed to the taxi stand to get our ride to bring us to Ah Pek's house. 

Took a quick photo of the famous waterfall

It was quite a long drive to Ah Pek's house. Chim Poh was home, and she opened the door for us. Rested a bit before Ah Pek, Ah Mm and the 3 girls got home from their morning activities. They quickly changed and we headed to the famous Boon Tong Kee, there was a branch nearby.

After that, 4 of us (Ah Pek, Chim Poh and us) headed to a nearby mall Junction 8 to have a look at the portable air-con and to pick up some stuff which we could not bring from Penang. The salesman was rather annoying and pushy, although the moment we mentioend portable air-con, he asked if it's for hostel. He wasn't too happy that we didn't fall for his ploy to quickly snap up the unit which (according to him) is running out very quickly.

Instead, we bought a stick vacuum cleaner. It was quite compact and good enough for you to clean your room. 

After that, we stopped by Nitori to pick up other household stuff such as the plate, bowl, mug, pot, hangers and a collapsible drying rack. And then we picked up a bolster (since you said you cannot sleep well without it.. and the cheapest they had in stock cost SGD69!!).

And finally, we picked up some toiletries from the Fair Price at the lower floor before hopping back into the car and heading home. 

Dinner was at home, we finished up the leftovers from lunch and ate charbeehoon which was cooked by one of the maids. 

Then it was time to call it a night. Such a long and tiring day. 

Birthday Celebration in Charmed Koh Yo

I had made a reservation for the table months in advance. Daddy had found this really nice looking restaurant called Charmed. It is on Koh Yo, an island in the lake near to Songkhla. We worried about getting aGrab back to the hotel since the island is rather secluded. The hotel tried to check for transport, but the quoted price was so much higher than what we checked on Grab (pre-ordered van). Unfortunately, it was impossible to get a van. So we cancelled that and pre-ordered 2 cars for pick up from Charmed at 9pm.

We left the hotel at around 4pm. The drive was quite a while. Here's the bridge joining the mainland to the island. 

The driver had to turn into a very narrow road. Like kampung road, but it was in very good condition. And then, we're at the restaurant. We could walk out to enjoy the view:

As it was still rather early, we decided to walk to a nearby weaving factory. Unfortunately, it was closed. So we headed back to the restaurant. 

We were treated to a welcome drink after we were seated. 

After ordering the appetizers and drinks, we got the waiter to help take photos:

Took our own photos too:

It took quite a while before all our drinks/cocktails were served. The waitress had explained that they were short on staff that evening.

We decided to quickly order the mains in case it took too long to be served.

Then our mains were served:

Fried mince pork with fish

Stewed pork

Shrimp patties

And then our mains arrived:

Stir fried mince pork with basil

Steamed sea bass with lemon sauce

Grilled prawns

*Missing another Prawn in Paneang sauce*

Cabbage with scrambled egg

Stir fried pork belly and prawns with stink beans (for daddy)

Crab meat with curry

We finished dinner quite early.. it was only around 7.30pm. So Mei-mei and I headed out to walk around and for her to play on the swing and this "rocking giraffe".

The restaurant looks so pretty in the twilight:

Then we moved to the bar to have some drinks. 

When we finally got to contact our drivers at 8.15pm, we sent them a note that we were ready to leave anytime they can arrive. Unfortunately, they were driving over from Hatyai. We finally left the restaurant just before 9pm.

Headed back and KO-ed. What a long day! But I had an amazing day of celebrations.

Day 1: Hello, Hatyai!

We had an early start today. The van arrived at 6.30am sharp as daddy had requested. We quickly loaded the van and off we go on our short holiday to Thailand. This would be Mei-mei's first time going into Thailand. You both took naps (although you denied it).

Then we took a quick stop at Changlun. Here we bought some chocolates, and went to another duty free shop to pick up wine and whiskey.

Someone didn't have enough sleep. Look at the panda eyes!

A short ride later, we arrived at the Malaysian border. We had to take all our bags down to have them scanned and to clear immigration. Hopped back onto the van where we picked up the duty free alcohol we had purchased and then headed to the Thai border. Here, we had our passports stamped by the Thai authorities. The immigration officer even wished me "Selamat Hari Jadi". Hehe.. 

Welcome to Thailand! Time to turn our clocks back by an hour.

We arrived at Hatyai town and picked up the "tour guide". As this van was only allowed to stop at Hatyai and we wanted him to drop us at Songkhla, we needed a local tour guide in the car. Before leaving Hatyai, daddy and Ah Kong stopped at the money changer. 

And off we go to Songkhla. It's so sunny.

And here we are at our hotel: Club Tree Hotel.

As the rooms were not yet ready, we could not check in (it was around 11am only). And we were all feeling hungry, so we called 2 Grab and headed to Joe Delicious. Happiness for Mei-mei as there are cats here for you to play with.

We ordered the food and soon it arrived:

Burnt coconut

Medium sized lump crab fried rice

Pad See Ew

Stir fried veggies

Fried pork

Deep fried squid

We were even treated to the cotton fruit:

Here's the menu at the entrance:

Then we decided to take a walk to the old town. Looks like we took the wrong road. It's so narrow and difficult to walk along this street. 

In the end the traffic and heat got the best of us. We decided to run into a cafe to have drinks and wait for check in time.

It's a pretty cafe. Nicely decorated. There's even a well right inside it!

This little girl had fun having her photos taken:

Then we called for another 2 Grabs to take us back to the hotel:

Finally.. here's our room!

Time to rest a little before getting ready for dinner.